August 6, 2013

Dear Mama,
It’s been almost 32 years since Bob and I sealed our love with wedding bands and a small ceremony. In fact, on August 15th it will be exactly 32 years.

I wonder if I will ever be able to forget the days and weeks leading up to that day, or if I can ever put the image captured in our photos of the grim expression you wore that day. You were not pleased. You had not gotten your way. I was marrying this man without your approval and your hope was that we would fail.

Fail we did not. Yes, like most couples, we faced storms, battles, surgeries, children struggling with their choices and lives, but in the end we have held it together. In fact, we can now list four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren with one more great-grand on the way. Our family has grown. For the most part, they too have succeeded.

I so regret that at the time we were becoming a blended family that you couldn’t rejoice with us and help us, rather than try to break us down. Those days have left scars not only on me but also on Craig and Bob’s children. Fortunately, I don’t think the three of them realize they have these scars, and perhaps that’s for the best. Hopefully, they’re not being passed on to the next generations.

I hope that by now you’ve realized you were wrong in trying to block our marriage. I could wish I didn’t need to write those words out so plainly, but the truth must be told once and for the final time.